This week we're going all the way back to the blood-soaked streets of the Roman Empire to tell the tale of lamentable lady Locusta - the world's first serial killer - and her employer Agrippina The Younger. Learn how they used feathers, mushrooms and hot wine to bring one of history's most notorious emperors to power, and prepare to be horrified and puzzled at how Locusta eventually met her end...

This week's secret ingredient is....a feather!

Sources include History.com, Wiki, Kings and Generals (YouTube), Naked History but all are based on the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius, Cassius Dio and other historians from the time.

The episode image is "Locusta testing in Nero's presence the poison prepared for Britannicus", painting by Joseph-Noël Sylvestre, 1876. View the full image on Wiki or our Facebook posts!

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